The volume of medical literature has increased so much that handsearching for information in pharmacology has become laborious. Rapid access to information of the usage and/or toxicology of compounds is essential for the most cost effective utilization of biomedical personnel. When new research projects are initiated, information must be obtained on prior information in the field, on the feasibility of available procedures and on the extent to which phenomena of interest have been satisfactorily explored. These assessments of the state of the art require a professional background, especially in clinical and pharmacological studies where judgements must be frequently made concerning dose, species, routes of administration of drugs, etc. Therefore, information retrieval and appraisal activities have been established in NHLI.